US destroyer patrol inflames South China Sea dispute

BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. Navy has sailed a destroyer close to islands in the South China Sea controlled by China. Washington says it’s a patrol aimed at asserting freedom of navigation through the strategic seaway. The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed past the Paracel Islands and continued with operations in the South China Sea. Such operations are key to the U.S. Navy maintaining its presence in the Indo-Pacific, where China has grown its presence through a massive ship-building campaign and the establishment of allies such as the Solomon Islands, which has agreed to receive Chinese troops in emergencies. China claims ownership over virtually the entire strategic waterway, but the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay competing claims to the region.